Keeping our cool in the correctional environment is paramount in our ability to do our job
effectively. It is also something that often comes with length of service. Usually the longer one has
been exposed to high stress environments and scenarios, and effective ways of dealing with them, the
better able they are to act cool under pressure when a similar situation presents itself again.

Sometimes things happen outside of our control, and the things that happen outside of our
control can get us the most frustrated in life. So taking the extra time to think about how we are going
to handle these situations, what we are going to say, will have a profound impact on how effectively we
deal with them.

Keeping our cool, as it relates to communicating with the offender population, is paramount in
maintaining security at correctional facilities. It really is about listening, rephrasing and asking the right
questions. We work with a population that is ever-evolving with respect to varying ages of
offenders/generational gaps, different types of charges and an ever increasing influx of offenders with
mental health issues. Keeping your cool is not about being passive and sticking your head in the sand
when a situation needs addressing. Rather, it is about speaking to offenders calmly and as we all wish to
be spoken to—with respect. If you have ever witnessed a situation which went south really fast, rewind
and look at how it occurred. I’m pretty sure that for a significant number of such incidents something
went awry along the way due to staff’s communication styles, that is, due to staff not keeping their cool.

We communicate and interact with people constantly throughout the day. As we do this, our
interactions evolve, based on how we come across. Our workplace environment is a whole different
situation, because of our interactions with the offender population. We work with wonderful and
diverse staff members, but we can never forget the offender population is also quite diverse. If a staff
member is unable to keep their cool under tense circumstances, there could be serious ramifications,
sometimes not fully realized until sometime later.

Here is a scenario in corrections when one does not keep their cool: It’s count time and you’re
the one tasked with this shift responsibility. It’s during the busiest part of your facility’s day and you just
want to correctly do your job with minimum interruptions, especially when offenders are under your
care. You’re making good progress and are on a roll with completing your count, when an offender
approaches you and says they urgently need to speak with you. This offender is one we can say has the
“Boy who cried wolf” syndrome. Every time they want to urgently speak with a staff member it turns out
that it is something minor, not truly urgent. You brush the offender off with a sigh and a shrug, and
sarcastically reply: “I am busy right now, and pretty sure this is not an urgent matter. I’m in the middle
of something more important. If I have time I’ll speak with you later. For now, stop bothering me.”

Well … these types of responses can result in a variety of escalated responses either at that
moment or later on. So let’s break this down. By sighing and shrugging when the offender approached,
you sent them a clear message to steer away from you. You used the verbal sigh and non-verbal,
unpleasant shrug as a way of communicating with this offender. The sarcastic tone of voice is also offputting.
Offenders, especially ones with mental health issues, are not always keen to pick up sarcasm
and may just let it pass. Regardless, it’s a rude way to respond to anyone. We’re all busy, which was an
okay thing to say. But following that up with negating their feeling/issue by saying it was not an urgent
matter was another pitfall in this response. Lastly, “stop bothering me” implies that the offender’s
issues are unimportant and they are a bother. No one ever wants to be referred to as bothersome.

We can further this hypothetical scenario with the hypothetical responses/actions from the
offender.

The offender could have lashed out with some sarcasm in return, as well as some inappropriate
choice words to the staff member. This would have then resulted in a verbal tennis match, back ‘n forth
responses. Given the staff member’s opening comments, their follow-up responses to the offender
would likely be much worse, with a stronger show of voice tone. This could then result in the offender
potentially physically attacking the worker. Now you have the possibility of injuries to staff and
offenders.

This was a situation which never should have escalated to begin with. What if the offender took
the staff member’s keys? The potential for the custody and security breach of the facility could be
astronomical. Maybe offenders watching this want to assist the other offender, or maybe they want to
riot. Going from bad to worse could essentially take mere seconds.

Hang with me, colleagues, I am just getting warmed up! If after your initial response the
offender just walked away, do you really think they would forget about the interaction? Of course not.
Maybe they let it go for now, but the next time you’re at work, they just might come at you aggressively,
maybe with a weapon or body fluid.

Now if this offender just walked away, you really do not know if their request to speak with you
was urgent or not, right? Maybe they had a loved one pass/about to pass away, maybe they received
some other unpleasant news, or maybe they wanted to share with you good news or something they
accomplished, something which made them feel proud. Well, you just walked away and let that
pressure-cooker stew and stew and stew.

What if you forgot to pass on the situation to your relief? Then you have left them holding the
bag for their shift, and they may be the recipient of an unpleasant interaction with the offender.

Or what if the news was truly devastating to the offender, and they wind up harming others,
themselves or even dying by suicide? All of these things could be potential outcomes of this situation.

A very different and positive outcome would have resulted had you just said: “I can see this is
urgent on your part. Even though I am busy right now, how about you briefly let me know what is going
on right now? If it is urgent and I am unable to assist you right this moment, I will find a staff member
who can see you, in order for this to be addressed promptly.”

And while you’re saying this, you’re not folding your arms, and your tone is calm and polite.
Wow, what a difference in potential outcome this could make! The offender heard you say you’re busy,
but that you still want to speak with them to help them out!! As a staff member, you just earned
another notch of respect due to your positive communication skills, which will take you far in your
professional relationships.

Keep your cool and take the extra time to speak politely with offenders. They will open up, and
you will also derail potential situations which could otherwise lead to unsafe escalations for all involved.
Additionally, anyone observing will see this role-modeling aspect of your demeanor, and that quality will
hopefully rub off on others.

Go out there. Be observant, be calm and polite, but firm. Listen and don’t buy into
preconceived notions others are throwing at you. Make up your own mind based on the information
you get, so your interactions can be most effective in helping offenders. By helping offenders you are
maintaining public safety more diligently than you might realize. You’re making your workplace a lot
safer, which in turn can make communities safer. Ultimately, these are our goals as correctional
employees. To do otherwise would be a disservice to our outstanding profession. Remember to keep
your cool, and don’t let ‘em see you sweat.

Frank Rini is a correctional employee with over 20 years of experience. He has worked in many different positions for the same organization, and has been a creative writer for over 25 years. In his spare time he enjoys music, reading, movies, exercising and supporting the Dallas Cowboys.

Comments:

pictaram on 05/25/2018:

Keeping cool is very important. I have to regret many times because I can't keep cool. It's very hard. I hate it even when I can keep the cool outside but I go home and explore with my kids, my family. I hate it! email login